Added 9 October 2026
reed
/ɹiːd/ noun
In Latin: harundō, iuncus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about reed at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites.
- United States journalist who reported on the October Revolution from Petrograd in 1917; founded the Communist Labor Party in America in 1919; is buried in the Kremlin in Moscow (1887-1920).
- United States physician who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1851-1902).
Origin
From Middle English red, from Old English hrēod, from Proto-West Germanic *hreud (“reed”), of uncertain origin. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian raid (“reed”), Saterland Frisian Räit (“reed”), West Frisian reid (“reed”), Dutch riet (“reed”), German Reet, Ried (“reed”). No cognates in North Germanic languages, but the existence of an otherwise unattested Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐌹𐌿𐌳 (*hriud) was supposed by the brothers Grimm. They also theorised that the word may have a relation to the retas mentioned in Noctes Atticae (Aulus Gellius). The measuring reed sense is the translation of Akkadian qanûm ("cane") used in the Bible and elsewhere.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)